Power transmission mechanism for spinning mules



7 July 5, 1949-.

, F. EATON, JR, ET AL 2,475,486 POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM FOR SPINNING MULES Filed May 24, 1947 2 Shets-Sheet l Lil . r "[2; 5H 4W 2 112 I 27 1! a 15 v J7me".- Milk/25,1 J3. .P/zz? (2664 Fwd y 1949-v F. L. EATON, JR., ET AL I 2,475,486

POWER TRANS MISSION MECHANISM FOR SPINNING MULES Filed May 24, 1947 2 Shee ts-Shee't 2 .HaZQJmvfwad gr MQW Patented July 5, 1949 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE POWERTRANSMISSION MECHANISM FOR SPINNING MULES- Frank L. Eaton, Jr., Auburn, and Philip 0. Soderlnnd, Worcester, Mass. eBassett, Inca Worcester, Mass, a corporation or Massaonnsetts assignors toJolinson Application. May 24, 1947, Serial No. 750,248

14 Claims,

The present invention relates to spinning machines and morev particularly to that type (if-spinning' machine which islrnown as a self-operating mule.

As is known by those skilled'in the art; a spinning machine of the selioperating mule type comprises a head mechanism, a. quadrant mechanism and a carriage whichisadapted to travel back and. forth between the head and" quadrant mechanisms; Thecarriage su ortsa center mechanism upon which the; rotary spindles are mounted. All motions or the various elementscomprising a mule originateinthe headmechanism and in all such" spinningmachinesheretofore" used the head" mechanism has been driven from a power-source, sucl'las an electric motor,

which has usually been connected*to the-head by means of a plurality'of endless belts. Variousbelt shipping device's have also been necessary equipment on" such priormachinesin order to ship the belt over various pulley combinations tothe end that the mule may" perform: its diverse operations at: the requisite s eeds. It has been found that the above descrihed power transmit ting system is inherently inenieient for the reason that thebelts must "we maintainednnder a high degree of tension at all times or: otherwise the ployed and which objectionable. features havev been hereinabover-notedt A further: object of theepresent. invention is to provide a spinninemuler witha-self-contained head mechanism.-

A still-iurther object of. the present invention" isto'provide a'aspinning mule. with a. self -contained head mechanismwhich will be positively driven at all times.-

With-the above and. other objects in. view, as-

will hereinafter appear,- .the. invention comprises the devices, combinations. and arrangements of parts described in connection with the accompanying drawings which, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention in which:

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation view of a mule spinning machine incorporating the present invention therein.

Fig. 2 represents atop plan sectional view taken substantially along the,line-2" 2jof Fig. 1.

Eig. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of the head" mechanism incorporating therein the present invention.

Fig. 4 represents a sectional 'sideelev'ation view of ,a transmission mechanism which forms a part of the present invention.

As is well known in-the art, tlie,spinning of yarns is accomplished...by the following operation on the mule. The soft rovingas it comes from acard is drawn out to reduce the diameter of the strand. simultaneously with the drawing out of the strandlthe. roving is twisted to give the yarn sufilcient strength so that it may be properly woven.

bobbinor tube depending. upon the requirements of the weaver.

Referring particularly to E'igs..1 and2 of the present drawings; the m'ule spinning mechanism comprises in general a head mechanism designated generally bythenumeral l0, which head mechanism is secured to a head plate H which in turn is secured directly to the floor. from the head mechanism i0 is a quadrant plate l2 upon which the usual quadrant mechanismi3 is supported. Disposed between the head andquadrant plates II andv l2 are a pairv of parallel tracks l4 and I5 upon which a carriage I6 is adapted to be guided. Such a carriage is usually provided with a plurality of wheels l1, I! at either end thereof for the purpose of engaging the tracks I 4 and I5..

Mounted upon the head" mechanism in the usualv manner are drawing rolls l8 which are driven in the usualmanne'r from the mechanismcohtained within the'head. The carriage i6 supports the usual center mechanism I9 which in turn carries a plurality of spindles 2'0 upon-each of which is carried the usual bobbin 2|.

As is well known in the art ofspinning, the carriage i6 is initially placed adjacent to the delivery rolls 18. As the rolls'start to deliver the roving, the carriage moves out'toward' the quadrant mechanism at substantially the same speed as the roving is delivered. When-thecarriage, with its spindles 20, 20' reachesa" predetermined position, which is normallydetermiriedby the nature or- Afterthe yarnpis sotwisted it is wound into a cop in a form suitablefor weaving. On the usualtype of machine theyarn is wound onto a.

Spaced the stock to be spun, the rolls stop and the carriage continues to move toward the quadrant mechanism. By this operation the roving is thereby drawn out about twice its original length.

During this initial movement of the carriage a certain amount of twist is introduced into the roving. This twisting is accomplished by rotating the bobbins in such a manner that the rovings are not wound thereupon but are merely twisted about their longitudinal axes. As is understood by those skilled in the art, this twisting is accomplished by inclining the various bobbins toward the head mechanism and thus the rovings will not be wound thereon but will merely slip over the top of each spindle. One twist of 360 is, therefore, put into the roving for every revolution of a spindle. The combined drafting and twisting action of the mule imparts to the thread its characteristic formation.

When the carriage l6 has reached the end of the draft it is stopped and while in that position additional twist is put into the yarn thereby to give the yarn greater strength. In order to impart the additional twists to the yarn while the carriage is thus stationary adjacent the quadrant, an accelerated speed is imparted to the spindles. After this twisting is completed, the spindles reverse for a few turns, thereby performing what is known as the back off. Thereafter the faller fingers begin to function and thereby guide the yarn onto the bobbins in a manner well known. The carriage then commences to move back toward the head mechanism H] in order to perform the so-called draw-in motion. During this draw-in motion the faller fingers are ascending and decending thereby to guide the yarn onto the bobbins in the usual fashion. As soon as the carriage it has returned to its initial position the mule has then completed a full cycle and is free to perform succeeding cycles.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the head mechanism is provided with a draft or draw-out shaft 22 upon which are mounted a pair of draft scrolls 23 and 24. Ihe draft scroll 23 has trained thereabout a cable 25 which extends from the scroll so as to be trained over an idler pulley 26, and thereafter the cable reverses its direction and is secured directly to the carriage l6. Trained over the scroll 24 is a second cable or draft check 2'! which extends from the scroll to have one end thereof directly secured to the carriage l6. As will be hereinafter described, the head mechanism I is provided with power means whereby the scrolls 23 and 24 are driven in a manner such that the cable 25 will be effective to move the carriage from its initial position adjacent the head mechanism to its secondary position adjacent the quadrant. The draft check cable 21 functions to prevent the carriage l6 from overrunning during the drafting operation.

Also provided on the head mechanism II] is a draw-in shaft 28 which may be directly connected to a pair of oppositely disposed draw-in scrolls 29 and 30 by clutching means which will be hereinafter described. Each of the draw-in scrolls 29 and 30 has one end of a cable 3| trained thereabout and the other end of the cable is connected directly to the carriage l6. Appropriate mechanism is provided in the head for clutching the scrolls 29 and 30 to the shaft 28 and thereafter rotating the shaft so as to return the carriage Hi to its initial position adjacent the head mechanism it. It is also to be understood that on one end of the shaft 28 is mounted a draw-in check scroll 32 which is provided with a check cable 33 of which one end portion is trained about a loose pulley 34 which in turn is mounted upon the quadrant plate l2. The one end portion of the cable 33 extends from the pulley 34 to be secureddirectly to the carriage l6 for the purpose of preventing the same from overrunning during the draw-in portion of the mule cycle.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the head mechanism I0 is provided with a main rim 35 over which is trained a spindle drive cable 36 which is also trained over a pulley 31 mounted upon the quadrant mechanism l3. Intermediate the main rim 35 and the pulley 31 the cable 36 is trained about a pair of pulleys 38 and 39 which are rotatably mounted upon the center mechanism l9. Appropriate power means are provided in the head mechanism for driving the main rim 35 during the drafting operation and it is the function of the cable 36 to power, during this portion of the cycle, the spindles 20 which are connected by mechanism, not herein disclosed, to the pulleys 38 and 39.

As is understood by those skilled in the art, the spindles 20 are not rotated by means of the cable 36 during the draw-in operation at which time the carriage i6 is moved from the quadrant l3 to the head mechanism I0. However, during this portion of the cycle the spindles are rotated by a secondary means. As is well known, the secondary means comprises a quadrant arm 42 to which one end of a quadrant-winding chain 40 is secured. The other end of which chain is trained about a drum 4| rotatably mounted upon the center mechanism I9. Appropriate mechanism is provided for connecting the drum 4| to the spindles 20 during the draw-in portion of the cycle. Thus, as the carriage I6 moves from the quadrant l3 to the head mechanism H], the quadrant arm 42 causes, by way of the chain 40, a rotation of the pulley 4| thereby to actuate the spindles 20, 20 in the usual manner.

In order properly to regulate the speed of rotation of the spindles during this draw-in operation, the quadrant arm 42 is made to rotate towards the head mechanism by means of a quadrant sprocket chain ||0. This chain III] has one end anchored to one side of the carriage Hi from which it extends backwardly to be trained over a driving sprocket and then it extends forwardly to pass about an idler sprocket ||2 so as to have its other end anchored to the carriage l6. Since the driving sprocket III is geared in the usual manner to the quadrant arm 42, the movement of the carriage l6 back and forth will be effective to actuate the quadrant arm.

Generally speaking, the present transmission mechanism comprises a housing 43 enclosing mechanism which will be hereinafter described. Projecting through one end of the housing 43 is a variable speed output or main shaft 44 upon which the hereinabove noted main rim 35 is rigidly mounted. Spaced from the main rim 35, and, also mounted upon the main shaft 44, is a loose idler gear 45. Upon the extreme end portion of the shaft 44 is rigidly mounted a draft pinion gear 46 which is adapted to drive the draft scrolls 23 and 24 by way of a compound gear reduction unit comprising the meshing gears 41, 48, and 49; it being understood that the gear 49 is mounted upon the draft or draw-out shaft 50. A clutching mechanism 5| functions to couple and uncouple the inter-connected draft scrolls 23 and 24 to and from the gear 49, From this it is to be understood that the clutching element 5| is effective to conheat the draftscrolls' 23 and 24' to and'to disconnect them from the main shaft 44.

Extending through the-other end ofthehousing 43' is acontinuously rotating output shaft 52 upon which is mounted a driving'pinion 53 which is adapted'to rotate continuously the hereinabove noted draw-in shaft 28" throughthe medium ofa compound reduction gear train comprising the gears 54, 55 and'56, the latterof which gears is connected directly' to the draw-in shaft 28;

As hereinabove noted; the draw-in shaft 28 has mounted thereon the draw-in scrolls 29 and 35 as well as the check scroll 32. As may be best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the' shaft 28 is provided with a pair of draw-in clutches Tand58. The function of the clutch 5! is to couple the scroll 29 to and" to disconnect it from the shaft 28' and, by the same token, the clutch 58 functions to connect and dis-- connect the scrolls and 32 to and from the shaft 28 which is continuously rotated by means of the shaft 52;

From the above his to be understood that the main rim 35, as well as all of the scroll mechanisms, are all powered from the mechanism contained within the transmission housing-43. It

now becomes obvious that some means is required for control-ling these various driven elements so:

that the mule-spinning device may perform the cycle as hereinabove described. The present invention contemplates the provision of such a con-- trol means and it takes the form of acam shaft 59 which is mountedon the head mechanism and: in parallelism with the main shaft 44 and the draw-in shaft 28. This cam shaft 59-is adapted to be rotated and for this purpose it is provided with a-gear Eilwhich is connected therewith and which meshes directly with'the idler gear 45 carried by the main shaft 44. In order to rotate theidler gear 45-" there is meshing therewith a gear 6'! which is fixed directly upon the continuously rotating draw-in shaft 28. Thus, it is to be understood that the cam shaft 59 may be driven fromthe shaft 52"through the medium of the shaft 28 and the idler gear 45.

Mounted upon one end of the cam shaft 59 is a draft'oam 62 which has engaging therewith one end of a pivoted follower 63' the other end portion of which carries the usual clutch fork 64 for the purpose ofe'ngaging the draft clutch5'l. It is the purpose of the draft cam 52' to so actuate the clutch'5l that the draft scrolls 23 and 2.4 will be intermittently operated to the end that the car riage will be moved from the head mechanism toward: the quadrant whenever" the draft motion is required during the spinning cycle.

Mounted upon the opposite end'portion of the cam shaft 59 is a low-speed cam 65 which has engaging therewith a pivoted follower 66 the other end portion of which connects with a gear shifter 51 projecting throughthe transmission housing 43. It is the purpose of this cam to shift the,

lever film a manner such that the gearing, which will be hereinafter described, will be effective to produce a predetermined speed of rotationofthe:

shaft 44 prior to and during the drafting portion of the cycle. effective to retain the lever 61 in that position until the carriage has completed thedrafting operation, after which time the cam will be effective to throw the lever in the opposite direction thereby to permit a further gearchange which will be hereinafter. described.

Mountedtupon the cam shaft 59 between the cam 65 andthe gear is a high-speed: cam 68 which has engaging therewithra pivoted follower Furthermore, this cam will. be-

6 the other end" portion of which is adapted to be connected to a lever 10 which extends into the transmission housing 43in a manner similar to that of the lever 61-; It isthe function of the lever 10 to ohange'the gear ratio within the transinsuch a manner that the speed up the motions of the bobbins to the end thatadditional' twists are placed in the yarn in:-

a manner as hereinabove set forth. Of course,

the cams 65and-68 are so timed that the lever 10 isnot actuat'ed'until after the lever fi'l 'has-been shifted in a manner such that its gear train is no longer'eifective to drive the shaft 44. The cam-68 alsois adapted to actuate the lever 10 at that point in the-spinningrcycle when thecarriage i6 is' tozbe moved-back toward the head mechanism 10':

for; as hereinabovenoted; it is at thispoint'that' the rim 3'5, with its cable3'6; no longenfunctionss to power the bobbins for the-reason that theouad rant" is adapted to rotate the bobbins upon the return-motion of the carriage" it. Since, during this return-motion of the carriage l6: it is not necJ- essary to power-drive the draft scrolls 23 and 24, the entire main shaft may remain atrest'; it being'understoodi that'the movement of the carriage lfiwillbeeifective to rotate: the scrolls 23 and 2-4throughxthe mediumof the cable 25 thereby to rewindthe check cable 21 upon'thescroll 2'4.

Mounted upon the cam shaft 59- between the: cam Stand the'geartllisa draw-in cam'H whichhas engaging therewith'a: pivoted follower 12 the one-.endiportion of which isadaptedv to be con nected to a' pair" of clutch actuating arms 13 and 14 which function respectively to actuate the clutches 58- and' 5Twhichare associated with the As noted hereinabove, the

draw-int shaft 28: shaft 28 is adapted to be continuously rotated and thus it is the-function of the'draw-in cam H to actuate the clutches 51 and 58- in a manner such that-the draw-in scrolls Hand 30 and the check scroll. 32? will be operated at the proper point in the spinningtcyc-le. As has already been describedtheclutches51 and 58 are adapted-to couple-the scrolls 29; 30 and 32' to the shaft 28- wheneverit is necessary to draw the carriage l6" toward the head mechanism ducethe draw-in portion of III; thereby toprothe cycle. By the lsametokenrthecam'Hwill operate to disengage" thexsorolls' zfl'; 30 and-BI-fromthe shaft 28 wheneversthe carriage Hihas arrived in its initial lposition adjacent the headmechanism 10.

Thus; from the" above it. is to be clearly understood that therotatable cam shaft 59 functions tointerrelate-all 'ofthe various operating elements to the end that a proper spinning cycle is effected. Asbestlshownain Figs. 2,- 3 and 4, the present transmission mechanism plate-H. shaft 16. which is shaft 11 through the medium of a hydraulic coupling device 18 whichfunctions to prevent the k mechanical shocks'and vibrations inherent in a from being transferred baclr to the motor 15. Furthermore, such any,

machine of this character drauliccoupling makesfor a more efficient drive asitcus-hionsthevarying loads which are'applied to the shaft-Tl; Thisshaft 11 extends into the comprises an. electricmotor 15 which;may be bolted directly tothe head,- Extending from the motor 15 is a motor: adapted to drive a main input transmission housing 43 and is disposed in coaxial relation with the main output shaft 44. As hereinabove noted the output shaft 52 also extends into the transmission housing 43 and it is disposed in a parallel relation with the shafts 44 and I1. As best shown in Fig. 4, the transmission housing provides a counter shaft I8 extending parallel to the shaft 44 and this shaft I8 is connected to shaft IT by a gear I9 through the medium of a meshing pinion 80. The counter shaft also carries pinions 8| and 02 which mesh with gears 83 and 84, respectively, of different diameters, with the gears 83 and 84 being freely mounted on the outside of bearings 85 and 86 that surround the shaft 44. Consequently, rotation of the input shaft I! will cause the gears 83 and 84 to be continuously driven at different speeds independently of the shaft 44 carrying the main rim 35.

The shaft 44 has keyed thereon a pair of clutching sleeves 07 and 88 mounted adjacent the bearings 85 and 86. These sleeves 81 and 88 carry series of clutch plates 89 and 90 and these clutch plates cooperate with two other series of clutch plates 9| and 92 mounted on carriers 93 and 94 which surround the sleeves 8'! and 88 respectively.

The carriers 93 and 94 are mounted on the gears 83 and 84, respectively, and the plates 9| and 92 are turnable with the carriers while at the same time being capable of axial movement thereof. Therefore, the two series of clutching plates 89, 90 and 9|, 92 provide means for driving the shaft 44 from either gear 83 or 84, depending upon which set of plates are engaged under pressure.

For the purpose of operating the clutches, the transmission housing 43 provides cross shafts 95 and 98 on which are mounted the hereinabove noted levers 61 and 10 respectively. These levers 61 and I0, at their lower portions, take the form of forks that embrace clutch operating rings 91 and 98. These rings are shiftable on the sleeves 81 and B8 and. carry fingers 99 and I for engaging the respective sets of clutch plates 89, 90 and 9|, 92.

As is hereinabove noted the cams 65 and 68 are adapted to operate the levers 61 and I0, respectively, and from Fig. 4, it is to be understood that these cams will operate the levers 61 and I0 in opposite directions to engage one set of clutch plates 90 and 92 while the other set of plates 89 and 9| is disengaged. The net result is that as long as the cam shaft is continuously driven, each revolution thereof will first operate the arm 61 to engage clutching members 89 and 9| and thereby drive the shaft 44 at a relatively low speed so as to move the carriage I6 outwardly, after which the arm I0 will be moved to engage the clutching elements 99 and 92 to drive the shaft 44 at high speed with the carriage at its outer position. Thereafter, both of the arms 6'! and I0 will be shifted so that the shaft 44 will no longer be driven by the motor 15.

Still referring to Fig. 4, the hereinabove noted shaft 52 extends into the housing 43 and has a gear IIH loosely mounted thereon and in mesh with a pinion I02 turnable with the gear 83. Clutching elements I03 and I04 are carried by the gear MI and shaft 52, respectively, and these elements are operated by movement of a ring I shiftable by a fork I06 turnable on a cross shaft I01. An arm I08 provides means for manually operating this clutch, but normally the shaft 52 is driven continuously from the shaft 11 thereby to drive the cam shaft 59 in a continuous manner.

The present invention is described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings as being incorporated in a usual type of mule-spinning machine and thus much of the mule-spinning machine proper is not herein illustrated or described. However, it is believed that sufficient mechanism of the mule-spinning machine proper is shown so as to illustrate properly applicants invention and it should be clear to those skilled in the art that the basic and novel combination of elements herein described and claimed may be readily applied to the diverse forms of mule-spinning machines which are employed for producing various types of products.

Thus from the above it is to be understood that the present invention does away entirely with the need for belts and belt-shifting mechanisms and provides for a most efficient positive driving means for the various elements of a mule-spinning machine.

We claim:

1. A power transmission for a mule-spinning machine comprising, an enclosed transmission housing, a constant-speed input shaft extending into said housing, a power source coupled to the exposed end portion of said input shaft, a constantspeed output shaft journaled within said housing and operatively connected with said input shaft within said housing, a variable speed output shaft extending into said housing, speed-change means located within said housing and connecting said variable-speed output shaft with said input shaft, and means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft operable from said constant speed-output shaft for controlling said speedchange means in a predetermined cycle.

2. A power transmission for a mule-spinning machine comprising a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled to said input shaft, a constant-speed output shaft geared to said input 1% shaft, a variable-speed output shaft, speedchange gearing connecting said variable-speed output shaft with said input shaft, and means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft operable from said constant-speed output shaft for controlling said speed-change gearing so as to vary the speed of said variablespeed output shaft in a predetermined cycle.

3. A power transmission for a mule-spinning machine comprising, a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled to said input shaft, a constant-speed output shaft geared to said input shaft, a variable-speed output shaft, speedchange gears interposed between said variablespeed output shaft and said input shaft, means including a plurality of clutches for connecting said variable-speed output shaft with said input shaft by means of a selective group of said speedchange gears, and means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft operable from said constant-speed output shaft for controlling said clutches in a predetermined cycle.

4. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a pair of output shafts forming a part of said transmission unit, means connecting each of said output shafts with said input shaft so as to be driven thereby, means for intermittently connecting said output shafts with said carriage so as to reciprocate said carriage back and forth, and means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft powered by said input shaft for controlling said last mentioned means in a predetermined cycle.

5. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reoutput shaft coupled with said input shaft, a

variable-speed output shaft,;speed-change .means connecting said variable-speed output shaft with said input shaft, means powered from said constant-speed inputshaft for controlling said speed-change means so as to vary the speed of said variable-speed outputshaft in a predetermined manner, .means for intermittently connecting said output shafts with said carriage so as to reciprocate said carriage back and forth, and means including a constantly rotating unidirectional camshaft geared directly with said constant-speed output shaft for controlling said last mentionedmeans in a predetermined cycle.

6. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a, plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a constant-speed output shaft connected with said input shaft, a variable-speed output shaft, speedchange means connecting said variable-speed output shaft with said input Shaft, means operated. by saidconstant-speed output shaft for controlling said speed-change means so as to vary the speed of said variable-speed output shaft, means connected with said variable-speed output shaft for rotating said spindles, and means powered by each of said output shafts for reciprocating said carriage back and forth.

7. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a constantspeed output shaft geared to said input shaft, a variable speed output shaft, speed-change gears interposed between said variable-speed output shaft and said input shaft, means connected with said variable speed output shaft for rotating said spindles, means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft powered by said constant-speed output shaft for connecting said variable-speed output shaft to said input shaft through selective combinations of said speedchange gears in a predetermined cycle, and means powered by each of said output shafts for reciprocating said carriage back and forth.

8. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a constantspeed output shaft geared to said input shaft, a variable-speed output shaft, speed-change gears interposed between said variable-speed output and said input shafts, clutch means powered by said constant-speed output shaft for connecting said variable-speed output shaft to said input shaft through selective groups of said changegears in a predetermined cycle, means connected with said variable-speed output shaft for rotating said spindles, and means powered by each of said output shafts for reciprocating said carriage back and forth.

9. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a, constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, 3, constant-speed output shaft connected with said input shaft, a variable-speed output shaft, two

"'1 0 sets of intermeshing gears disposed between said input andsaid variable-speed output shafts,

.each of said sets "being adapted to produce a different shaft speed, -a pair of clutches powered by said constant-speed output shaft, each of said oiutches being associated with a respective one of said: sets of gears for intermittently coupling and uncouplingsaid variable-speed output shaft to and from said input shaft in a predetermined cycle, means connecting said variabie-speed shaft with said spindles for rotating the latter, and means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft powered by said constant-speed outputsshaft for =intermittently connecting and disconnecting said carriage to and from each of said output shafts so as to reciprocate said carriage back and forth.

10. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a continuously rotatable output shaft coupled with said input shaft, an intermittently rotatable output shaft, clutching means operable to connect and disconnect said intermittently rotatable output shaft to and from said input shaft, means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft powered from said continuously rotatable output shaft for actuating said clutching means in a predetermined cycle, and means including said cam shaft for intermittently connecting and disconnecting each of said output shafts to and from said carriage so as to reciprocate said carriage back and forth in a predetermined cycle.

11. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a continuously rotatable output shaft geared to said input shaft, an intermittently rotatable output shaft, means connected with said intermittently rotatable output shaft for rotating said spindles, clutching means powered by said continuously rotatable output shaft for connecting and disconnecting said intermittently rotatable output shaft to and from said input shaft in a predetermined cycle, and means powered by each of said output shafts for reciprocating said carriage back and forth.

12. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a constant-speed output shaft geared to said input shaft, an intermittently rotatable output shaft, a set of intermeshing gears disposed between said input and said intermittently rotatable output shafts, a clutch powered by said constant-speed output shaft for coupling and uncoupling said intermittently rotatable shaft to and from said input shaft through the medium of said intermeshing gears in a predetermined cycle, means connecting said intermittently rotatable shaft with said spindles for rotating the latter, and means including a constantly rotating unidirectional cam shaft powered by said constant-speed output shaft for intermittently connecting and disconnecting said carriage to and from each of said output shafts so as to reciprocate said carriage back and forth.

13. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said input shaft, a constantspeed output shaft geared to said input shaft, carriage draw-in scrolls connectible with said constant-speed output shaft, an intermittently rotatable output shaft connectible with said input shaft, spindle-operating means connected directly with said intermittently rotatable output shaft, carriage draw-out scrolls connectible with said intermittently rotatable output shaft, and means including a constantly rotatable unidirectional cam shaft powered directly from said constant-speed output shaft for connecting and disconnecting said intermittently rotatable shaft with said input shaft and for connecting and disconnecting said scrolls to and from their respective associated output shafts in a predetermined cycle.

14. A mule-spinning machine comprising, a reciprocable carriage, a plurality of rotary spindles mounted upon said carriage, a transmission unit having a constant-speed input shaft, a power source coupled with said shaft, a continually rotating constant-speed output shaft geared to said input shaft, carriage draw-in scrolls connectible with said constant-speed output shaft, a variable-speed and intermittently rotatable output shaft, speed-change gearing connecting said intermittently rotatable output shaft with said in* put shaft, spindle-operating means connected directly with said intermittently rotatable output shaft, carriage draw-out scrolls connectible with said intermittently rotatable output shaft, and means including a constantly rotatable unidirec tional cam shaft powered directly from said con stant-speed output shaft for starting and stopping and altering the speed of rotation of said intermittently rotatable shaft through said speedchange gears and for connecting and discon necting said scrolls to and from their respective associated output shafts in a predetermined cycle.

FRANK L. EATON, JR.

PHILIP O. SODERLUND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 114,619 1 Stead et al. May 9, 1871 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 490,625 Germany Jan. 30, 1930 678,480 Germany July 15, 1939 

